Snap-in box for electric wiring



P 1962 N. TAlBl 3,052,369

SNAP- m Box FOR ELECTRIC WIRING Filed Dec. 7, 1959 INVENTOR. NOE TA I BlM ME BY 4 r IOZ/VEYW 3,052,369 Patented Sept. 4, 1962 ice t 3,052,369.vI

BOXFORE CTRI WIRING No;Taibi, 1 17 Central Ave, Brooklyn, NY.

Filed Dec. 7, 1959, Ser. No. 857,656 3'Cl'aiii1s. (Cl.220-'3.6)

This invention relates to electrical apparatus and, more particularly,to electric wiring terminal boxes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a snap-in typeterminal box for electric wiring which can be readily and convenientlyinstalled in any wall or ceiling opening with a minimum amount of damageto the structure, and without requiring the application of externalfastening elements thereto.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a snap-in typeterminal box which can be conveniently installed or removed, may besecured within an opening in any desired position independently ofsupporting structure, and which presents a neat and attractiveappearance from the exposed side thereof.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a snap-intype terminal box of the type described which can be manufactured inlarge quantities at a relatively low cost, can be installed and removedin a minimum amount of time, and which can be readily salvaged for useon additional jobs so as to extend the useful life thereof.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a terminal box made in accordance withthe present invention in an installed position;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a bezel element forming apart of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse cross sectional view ofthe assembly shown in FIGURE 1, showing the manner in which the partsare installed;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary transverse cross sectional view taken alongline 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 55 ofFIGURE 3 and FIGURE 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a swivelelement forming a part of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, an electrical terminal box 10 made inaccordance with the present invention is shown to include a housing 12having a plurality of openings 13 and electrical fittings 14 for thereception of suitable wiring implements, such as cables, sockets,switches, and the like. The housing 12 is of generally rectangularconfiguration having bevelled corners 16 that provide a flat surface fordefining slots 17 that extend parallel to the longitudinal central axisof the housing. A non-circular bushing 18 is slidably supported withineach such slot 17 for adjustment relative to the front open side of thehousing. A hinge plate 21 having a similar non-circular opening 22 issupported upon a reduced non-circular section 20 of each such bushing18. A bolt 23 and washer 24 provide sufficient pressure to secure thehinge plate 21 and bushing 18 in any selected adjusted position withinthe slot 17 relative to the front plane of the housing. A hinge pin 25associated with each hinge plate 21 pivotally connects an individual arm26 to each such hinge plate for pivotal movement between a normallyperpendicularly outwardly extended position as shown in FIGURE 1, and aretracted position 26a as shown in broken lines in FIGURE 3.

The assembly also includes a substantially circular bezel 30 having aplurality of perpendicularly related mounting flanges 42 which aresecured to the sides of the housing 12., such as by screws 43. The bezel30 is also provided with a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced apartopenings 29 through which bolts 32 extend into threaded engagement withan internally threaded bore 33 of a swivel member 34 having oppositelyextending pintles 35 that are rotatably received within a pair of anglemembers 36 depending from each one of the arms 26. Each such arm 26 isfurther provided with an enlarged opening 38 through which the free endof the bolt 32 extends. There will now be recognized that by rotatingthe bolts 32, the arms 26 may be selectively moved between theoutstretched position and the inwardly retracted postion shown in FIGURE3.

In actual use, the position of the arms 26 through the bushings 18 maybe adjusted by loosening and tightening the securement bolts 23, so thatthe open side of the housing 12 may be placed substantially flush withthe interior surface of the wall 49 upon which the device is to bemounted. With the arms in the retracted position 26a as shown in FIGURE6, the housing is inserted into the opening 50 of the wall 49 so thatthe bezel 30 overlies the exterior surface thereof. By then tighteningthe bolts 32, the arms 26a may be rotated into a fully outstretchedposition shown in FIGURE 3, to clamp the Wall section 39 between thebezel 30 and the arms 26, thus rigidly supporting the housing 12 in thedesired position. The desired connections may then be made, whereby thedevice is properly supported in the desired section within the wall orceiling member. Also, the device may be readily removed from suchstructure whenever desired, simply by rotating the mounting bolts 32 inthe opposite direction to return the arms to the retracted position 26a,so that the device may be removed and installed in another structureshould such be desired.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such isnot to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, whichis best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. An electrical terminal box comprising, in combination, a housing,retractable means for securing said housing within a wall opening, slidemeans adjusting the position of said retractable means with respect tosaid housing, screw threaded bolt means selectively controlling saidretractable means to secure and release said retractable means inengagement within the wall opening defining portions, said retractablemeans comprising a plurality of arms, hinge means pivotally connectingsaid arms to spaced apart portions of said housing, said hinge meansbeing carried upon said slide means for adjustment along an axisextending substantially parallel to the longitudinal central axis ofsaid housing, and a bezel carried by said housing, said screw threadedmeans acting between said bezel and said arms to control the position ofsaid arms relative to said bezel.

2. An electrical terminal box as set forth in claim 1, wherein each saidslide means comprises a bushing slidably supported upon one side of saidhousing for movement parallel to the longitudinal axis of said housing,and additional screw threaded means clampingly securing said bushing inan adjusted position relative to the front of said housing.

3. An electrical terminal box as set forth in claim 2, wherein saidscrew threaded bolt means comprises a bolt rotatably carried upon saidbezel adjacent to each one of said arms, an internally threaded swivelmember pivotally carried upon each said arm, and each said swivel memberthreadedly receiving the free end of said bolt therewithin ReferencesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Greenfield Mar.30, 1909 Canfield May 14, 1918 4 Behm Sept. 16, 1930 Gilmore Aug. 11,1931 Scott Feb. 1, 1944 Loy Nov. 4, 1947 Hamilton Aug. 21, 1956Valelunga Jan. 8, 1957 Austin May 28, 1957 Nickell Ian. 6, 1959

